Progressive change-speed gear



LEMW C. AMEDEE-MANNHEIM POGRESSIVE CHANGE SPED GEAR l 2 Shams-Shea?. 1

Filed beezA 4, 1922 C. AMEDEE^MANNHE|M PRoGREssIyE CHANGE SPEED. GEAR Filed Dec. 4, 1922 Patented Nov. 18, 1924.

UNITED STTES CHARLES AMEDEE-MANNHEIM, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

PROGRESSIVE CHANGE-SPEED GEAR.

Application filed December 4, 1922.

To @ZZ 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHARLES AMEDEE- MANNHEIM, a citizen of the French Republic, residing at 21 Boulevard Beausjour, Paris, France, have invented new and useful Improvements in a Progressive Change- Speed Gear, of which the following is the specification.

A Cardan joint comprises a spider having two branches at right angles; at the ends of each of the branches are ivoted forks keyed on shafts the axes of w ich intersect each other at the center of the spider. A joint thus devised allows the rotation from one of the shafts to be transmitted to the other, when the axes of these two shafts are relatively inclined. In this transmission of movement, owing to the fact that the axes of the shafts are fixed in space, the two branches of the spider each rotate in a different plane; these two planes are at right angles to the axes of the two shafts. Consequently, each branch of the spider receives, relatively to the plane of rotation of the other, a certain move-ment. It is known that this movement is an alternating rotation, in other words an oscillation, the amplitude of which is double the angle formed by the aXes of the shafts.

A Cardan joint allows therefore, outside its known application of transmission of a movement of rotation between two inclined shafts, to decompose a continuous rotary movement in two oscillations, which take place in two pla-nes at right angles, and the amplitudes of which are equal to double the angle which form together the shafts of the joint.

By causing this angle to vary, the amplitudes of the oscillations vare therefore caused to vary.

The preceding remarks do not obviously form, the subject-matter of the invention; but the mechanism described hereafter rests on these remarks. y

The invention consists in selecting the oscillations obtained, as just described, lby

means for instance of free wheels, so as to' obtain intermittent rotations of constant direction; then in composing these rotations, which take place in planes at right angles, into a single resulting rotation, the speed of which depends on the amplitude of the Serial No. 604,867.

primitive oscillations, and consequently, of the angle formed by the two shafts of the Cardan joint; the speed of the resulting rotation can therefore be caused to vary progressively. Y

It is to be noted that the driving shaft is constituted by one of the shafts of the Cardan joint, but that the drivenv shaft which receives the resulting rotation, is not one of the shafts of the Cardan joint.

The accompanying drawing illustrates by way of example a form of carrying out the invention.y i

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation anism as a whole. l

Fig. 2 is a View similar to Fig. 1, the driving shaft having turned tothe extent of 'a quarter of a revolution.

Figs. -3 to 8 are explanatory diagrams.

The form of construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 is constituted as follows:

The driving shaft 1 can be rendered rigid with the secondary driving shaft 2 or the of the mechdriven shaft 3, according vas the plate clutch 4 is pushed in the direction of the arrow 5 or in the direction of the arrow 6.

It will be supposed that the driving shaft 1 is rendered rigid with the secondary driving shaft 2. On the end of this shaft is keyed a fork .7 the branches 7a and 7b of which form bearings in-which arejournalled the aXes 8a and 8b, secured in alignment with each other on the sleeve 9.. This sleeve receives two other axes 10a and 10b,valso secured in alignment with each other and at right angles to the axes 8fL and 8b, and the ends of which are journalled in the bea-rings 11av and 11b connec-ted by columns 12a and 12b to the crown 13; this crown can freely rotate about the stationary plate 14. The plate 111 carries a lever 15, guided in a quadrant slot 16, having for center the geometrical point 0 of intersection of the axes 8 and 10. The lever 15 can be immobilized in position of any suitable device and in particular by means of a locking device similar to those used for the control levers of motor cars.

The plate 14 is formed with a slot 18, thro-ugh which passes the secondary driving shaft 2 and the driven shaft 8 which passes through the preceding one through an axial hole in the shaft 2. By this arrangement, the plate lt can be caused to rotate about the point 0, for the purpose explained hereafter. The sleeve 9 is also provided with an elongated opening 19 permitting the passage of the driven shaft 8.

lt will` be. seen that a Cardan joint has been obtained, the axes of the forks of whichI are X-X and Y-Y.

(ln each of the axes 8'El and; 8b are journalled two pinions: 20a-2()b and 2PK-2lb.

The pinions 20-21 are connected by a free wheel selecting system 22, On. the other hand, on each of the axes 10a 'and l()b are journallled pinions 23a and 23'b gearing with the pinions 20 and which arev connected by free wheel selecting systems 2 4; to the bearing-v parts 25 of the bearings 1 1 and 1lb. The selectors 22 and 24 are so arranged that an observer placed at the center 0 of the Cardan joint, looking successively at eachy of these selectors, sees that they all have the sanne direction of action: this direction wil-l be defined hereafter.

The pinions 2`l,21b gea-r with avpinion 26, loose on the driven sha-ft 3; a. pinio-n 27 is rigid with the pinion 26 and gears with the pinion 28 loosely rotating on a fixed` axis; this pinion 28 gears in its. turn, with the pinion 29 loose on the drijven shaft 3. A coupling 30 keyed on the dri-ven shaft 3 but capable of sliding on the same allows the driven shaft 3 to be rendered rig-id with either the pinion 27 or the pinion 29.

The operation is described. hereafter,v by supposing that the whole is initially in the position` ofV Fig. l' and, l shall examine what happens` during a lquarter of a revo-lu.- tion of; the driving shaft l,V for arriving con.- sequently to the position of Fig, 2.

Figs. 3 to 8.y allowV a clear.I understanding f the operation. lFig. 3 isadiagfram of' a Cardan joint, in` elevation similar to F l; Fig. 4 isa corresponding plan view. Figs. and 6 are respectively an eleva-tion anda plan view of this. joint after a` quarter of a, revolution. Figs. 7 and 8;illust,rate in, eleva- .tion and plan view theV joint after a quarter ofl a revolution, supposing the lever 15. is, free, and thev joints. locked, that is. to say rigid join-ts.

It will be seen, by comparing Figs. 5 and 7, that everything has taken place as if the lever l5 had come in the position of'F '7, then had turned in. the. direction of the ai'-, row j according to an ang-le forvcoming in the. position of- Fig. 5.

Moreover, it will be seen bycomparing Figs. 6 and 8- that this lever haswalso receivedv a rotary movement according to an. angle oa, in a .plane at right angles tothat of the pre.- cedingA rotation and in the direction ofthe arrow f1.

ReferringlagainA to Figs. land 2, it will therefore be seen that one` ofthe` wheels 23 has turnedA owingtothe rotation. f24 accord.- ing tok an ang-leoa. equal tothe ang-le. formed by the axes X X and Y Y about the axis l0 which corresponds thereto; the other wheel 23 is not obviously driven `by the selecting device relating thereto as will be understood from what hask been said abo-ve concerning the arrangement of these selectors. On the other hand, it will be seen that the axes l0 and 10?", owing to the rotation /f1 have turned accord-in to anv angle a about the 8 8l. 'l`lierefore, the wheels 23 are subjected to a gyration in the direction f1 and according to an angle a and constitute consequently the star pinions of an epicyclic gear the wheels 2O of which are the vplanet wheels; on the other hand, one of the wheels receives, as preffitmsly indicated, a rotation in the direction f2 and according to an, angle a.

Owing' to the properties of epicyclic gears. the movement t-rai'ismitted to the planet wheels 2O is therefore the resultant of the. composition of this rotation and of this gyration.

llt will be understood that for one of the.

wheels 20, this resultant is the sum of the rotation and of the gyration, whilst for the other wheel 2O the resultant is the. difference thereof. The free Wheel selectors 22 are soarranged that, outside the consideration pref viously indicated, their direction ofaction permits the wheels 20 which rece-ive the sum ofthe gyration and of the rot-ation of transmittingmovement to the pinion 2l corre spending thereto. It will be seen that, for a, quarter of a revolution of the driving shaft, o-ne of the pinion-s 2l (2la for instance) receives arotation equal to 2e, i-t would; then easily be seen that, per half-revolution of the drivin-g shaft, this pin-ion 2la receives a rota-tion of ta. For the following half-revolution, the pinion 2lb receives in its turn a rotation of 4oz, but in reverse direction to the preceding one; now the two pinions 2l gear with the pinion 27; the latter, per revolution of the driving shaft, will therefore receive. a rotation of constant direction equal fm to 801% 1i l designate by i the ratio of the number of teeth of the pinions 2l and 26.

The selecting systems 22v and 2i are arranged (this constituting the third condition of construction of these selectors) in such a fm manner that the transmission 8a 7E transmitted to the pinion 26 is of reverse direction to ther'otation of the driving shaft. In these conditions, it will be .seen that thev gyration of the pinions 2l about the axis X-X 1s not transmitted to the pinion 26, but that alone their own rotation la is transmitted to this pinion. Therefore, as long as the resultant rotation 8ay gb which takes Cil place for a revolution of the driving shaft, is inferior to 360, the pinion 26 is not actuated. This pinion 1s actuated as soon as 8a q-3J, greater than 360", that is to say as m soon as a greater than 450 E, at a speed increasing progressively with cc.

It will be therefore noted that the speed of the driven shaft 3, even when it is very small, is the difference of two rapid rotations, that is to say it will be possible to transmit great stresses with small intermediate sets of teeth. Besides, it will be seen that the gyration of the wheels 23 relatively to the wheels 2O is purely relative, but that the absolute movement of these wheels is a continuous rotation about the axis Y-Y, this obviously excluding any effect of inertia.

F or permitting the putting out of circuit, of the system described and the throwing into gear in direct drive of the driven shaft 3 on the driving shaft l, it is necessary for the shaft 3 to rotate in the same direction as the shaft l, in normal running. The train of gears 2i', 28, 29 permits this result being obtained. I/Vhen the coupling 30 is in gear with the pinion 29, the forward ruiming is thus obtained; by throwing this coupling in gear with the pinion 27, the backward running is obtained. In the position fo-r forward running, if the. shafts 3 and l are directly thrown in gear, by means of the clutch 4, and the coupling 30 is placed in such a manner that it is no longer in gear with any pinion, the direct drive is obtained, the mechanism described being put completely out of actio-n.

`What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a progressive change speed gear, a Cardan joint comprising a spider having four arms at right angles and two supports each pivoted on two arms forming an extension of the spider, four |toothed bevel wheels gearing together and each loosely mounted on each arm of the spider, selectors connecting two opposed wheels of these four wheels to the corresponding support, two bevel pinions loosely mounted on the arms of the spider carrying the two other wheels, selectors connecting the latter pinions to the latter wheels, a driven pinion gearing with the latter pinion, a driven shaft on which is secured this driven pinion.

2. In a progressive change speed gear, a Cardan joint comprising a spider having four arms at right angles and two supports each pivoted on two arms forming an extension of the spider, a driving shaft having a fixed geometrical axis on which is secured one of the supports, a bearing guiding the rotation of the second support, means for moving the said bearing and immobilizing it in position, four toothed bevel wheels gearing together and each loosely mounted on each arm of the spider, selectors connecting two opposed wheels of these four wheels to the corresponding support, two bevel pinions loosely mounted on the arms of the spider carrying the two other wheels, selectors connecting the latter pinions with the latter wheels, a driven pinion gearing with the said latterpinions, adriven shaft on which this driven pinion is secured.

3. In a progressive change speed gear, a Cardan joint comprising a spider having four arms at right angles and two supports each pivoted on two arms forming an extension of the spider, a driving shaft having a fixed geometrical axis on which is secured one of the supports, a circular frame on which can rotate the second support, a lever secured on the frame for permitting to move the latter, four toothed bevel wheels gearing together and each loosely mounted on each arm of the spider, selectors connecting two opposed wheels of these four wheels to the corresponding support, two bevel pinions loosely mounted on the arms of the spider carrying the two other wheels, selectors connecting the latter pinions with the latter wheels, a driven pinion gearing with the latter pinions, a driven shaft on which the driven pinion is secured.

4. In a progressive change speed gear as claimed in claim 3, an axial perforation of the driving shaft, through which passes the driven shaft which extends beyond the driving shaft, driving plates integral with the driven shaft, means for causing either the plates secured on the driving shaft, or the plates secured on the driven shaft, to become rigid with a primary driving shaft, the arrangement of the selectors so that the rotation of the driven pinion may be of reverise direction to the driving rotation, a pinion rigid with the driven pinion, a fixed axis, a pinion loosely rotating with this axis and gearing with the pinion rigid with the driven pinion, a pinion gearing with this pinion having a fixed axis and loose on the driven shaft, means for transmitting to the driven shaft either the rotation of the latter pinion, or that of the driven pinion.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

CHARLES AMEDEE-MANNHEIM. 

